Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song, images, and lyrics from the group, Mercy Me, singing … I Can Only Imagine … poignantly singing of how we, as Christians, are promised by God to be in the very presence of our LORD when we pass from this earth.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 23:4 [ESV] ... 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; … Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
… David sings of comfort from his Good Shepherd even when enveloped by the valley of despair because he knew Whom he was following.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 23 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… David, having been in a valley of despair (see photo), knows Whom he is following.
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Reference Passage : … Lamentations 3:22-23 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… When we believe in God’s faithfulness and His ever present mercies, we can walk thru the valleys of despair and confusion.
Reference Passage : … Habakkuk 3:17-18 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… The Prophet had to learn that we can hold onto our joy, no matter how dark the valley we may be walking in our times on earth.
Reference Passage : … Romans 8:28, 31 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, exhorts us to remember that we’re following the God of grace and mercy as we follow Him thru the valleys of darkness.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 5:8 [ESV] … 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
… Knowing and believing this truth helps us to walk thru any valley of despair.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Dave Branon, uses a touching personal testimony of dealing with a time where he walked thru the valley of the shadow of death written about by David in Psalm 23. … The ODB author wrote: Bart Millard penned a megahit in 2001 when he wrote, “I Can Only Imagine.” [see linked song] The song pictures how amazing it will be to be in Christ’s presence. Millard’s lyrics offered comfort to our family that next year when our seventeen-year-old daughter, Melissa, died in a car accident and we imagined what it was like for her to be in God’s presence.
But imagine spoke to me in a different way in the days following Mell’s death. As fathers of Melissa’s friends approached me, full of concern and pain, they said, “I can’t imagine what you’re going through.” … Their expressions were helpful, showing that they were grappling with our loss in an empathetic way—finding it unimaginable.
It’s probably not a stretch to imagine that most, if not all, who are reading here, have been in that valley of the shadow of death which King David sung about in Psalm 23. So, we probably know the feelings of despair and loss which were felt by the ODB author in his time of loss. But how did you deal with that time in your life?
Personally, I had to learn what the Authors of the Scriptures above came to KNOW deep in their hearts; … that we follow a Good Shepherd, Who is the One leading us thru any valley of despair [see Ps. 23:4]. And I had to come to believe what Habakkuk learned [see Hab. 3:17-18]; … that our joy is a choice and has nothing to do with our circumstances. And finally, I came to understand what the Apostle Paul taught in Roman 8:28, 31; … that ALL THINGS in the life of a Christian are for our good and for God’s glory.
It’s a hard - almost unimaginable - lesson to learn; but when we do, we will traverse the “valleys of the shadow of death” knowing that we WILL come out the other end and be with our Lord in glory [see 2Cor. 5:8]. And that I pray we not only imagine these truths, … but WE BELIEVE THEM!
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for leading and being with us thru the valleys of darkness in our lives.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me, to be follow our Good Shepherd into … and out of … any valley of despair where we may be walking right now. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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